Gracie's Dilemna
by Larry Boodry
Summary: Stan thinks he has something on Grace, something to bend her to his will. But when he pushes things too far, Gracie - afraid to say anything to Danno - turns to Uncle Steve instead.
1. Chapter 1

**Gracie's Dilemna**

 **Chapter 1 – Stalked**

 **Grace Williams loves to run, loves the slap of her sneakers on the pavement, but today – her sixteenth birthday – her heart's just not in it, and so after only one lap around the park she slows her pace, ready to call it quits.**

 _ **I need to call Will.**_

 **She stops then, a pretty girl wearing short, faded cut-offs and a white bikini top, her long black hair pulled back into a messy ponytail and her sun-browned skin shiny with sweat, and then her breath catches on a ragged, very un-Gracie-like sob.**

"Crybaby **," she mutters, angrily freeing her tangled hair from its scrunchie and shaking it loose. Then she extricates her phone from the tight pocket of her shorts and dials the familiar number.**

 **Will answers on the second ring. "Gracie, that you?"**

" **I'm not pregnant," she informs him, then hangs up, then realizes that she'd never let on that she might be.**

 **With another disgusted shake of her head and another muttered oath, Grace shoves her phone back into her pocket, leans down to tighten her laces, and starts on the long walk home. She never notices the familiar car idling across the street, or the man slouched behind the wheel staring at her with hungry eyes.**

* * *

 _ **Stan Edwards watches, somewhat bored, while his stepdaughter makes a short call on her cell, then his gaze sharpens as she bends to re-tie her sneakers. But after an all-too-brief glimpse of what her skimpy top wants to show him, her glossy hair falls forward like a veil, brushing the ground and blocking his view.**_

 _ **Well, hell.**_

 _ **He shifts the car into Drive and pulls from the curb, wondering what his darling Gracie will have to say for herself when he throws the crumpled-up EPT box – and what it says about her - in her face.**_

" _ **The bitch is mine," Stan says aloud, hearing the girl in his mind, begging for his silence, and imagining what she might do to secure it.**_

 _ **The thought makes him smile, and he presses his foot down on the gas.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This chapter is primarily where the M rating comes from, due to strong language and an attempted sexual assault, but rest assured that Gracie proves herself more than up to the challenge before her.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2 – Cornered**

 **The house is empty when Grace lets herself in. She kicks off her sneakers just inside the door, wiggles her toes in blissful relief, and heads upstairs to her room.**

 **The door stands wide open, the same door she locked before going for her run, the same door she locks _every_ time she goes anywhere, to keep Charlie out of her personal stuff.**

 _ **Not just Charlie, either.**_

 **Feeling a nervous flutter in her stomach, Grace enters her room and looks around warily, but everything appears undisturbed: the papers on her desk, the books and track trophies and Aloha Girl merit badges displayed on her bookcase.**

 **And the bed, still unmade as she perches on the edge of it, so at least she knows it wasn't Mom who violated her privacy.**

 _ **Not Mom,**_ **she thinks, shimmying out of her tight shorts and kicking them in the general direction of the hamper,** ** _and not Charlie unless Danno taught him to use a lock-pick thingy, and not Stan 'cause he wouldn't freakin'_ dare.**

 _ **Or would he?**_

 **Grace jumps up and begins to pace, now clad only in her white bikini top and the matching bottom half, then stops dead in front of her dresser, staring down at the wastebasket next to it.**

 **The _empty_ wastebasket, which hadn't been that way when she'd seen it last, oh no, _then_ there was a trashed pregnancy test kit and the box it came in, just enough proof of her sins for Danno to ground her for life and castrate Will.**

" **Shit!" Grace cries out in frustration, then for good measure she kicks the wastebasket across the room.**

 **Pain flares, tears form, and Grace lets out a pathetic little whimper.**

 _ **Jesus, that hurt.**_

" **Looking for something?" a voice drawls from the doorway, and she whirls around to see Stan leering at her.**

" **What do _you_ want?"**

" **Nothing," Stan replies as he eyes her from tousled head to throbbing toe. "Just enjoying the view."**

 **Grace blushes, standing before him nearly naked, but makes no move to cover herself.**

" **You've seen me like this before," she reminds him, but something in the way he's looking at her now makes her nipples go hard and erect under the thin cotton of her top.**

 **Stan notices. "Damn, Gracie, you happy to see me, or what?"**

 **She snorts. "Don't flatter yourself. They do that when it's cold, too."**

" **Smartass little slut, aren't you?"**

 **Her green eyes glitter at him. "I'm no slut, no matter what you found in my trash, but you _are_ right about my ass."**

" **What do you mean by that?"**

" **I mean I'd rather have a smart ass than a dumb one like you."**

 **They glare at each other, then finally Stan shrugs. "We'll see how smart you are when I inform Rachel her precious little girl is spreading her legs for half the boys on the beach."**

 **Grace's fingers curl into fists, and it is all she can do not to launch herself at him and claw his face into raw, bloody hamburger.**

" **There's only one boy," she says through clenched teeth, "and Mom already knows."**

 **His eyebrows go up. "You told her?"**

 **Grace just shrugs, wishing he would just get to the point and leave her alone.**

 **But Stan is enjoying himself too much for that, and he's tired of talking. His eyes roam over her body again, then he steps closer and slips the bikini straps off her shoulders.**

" **Here's the deal," he says, stroking a long length of her hair and brushing his knuckles across one exposed breast. "You're gonna be nice to me, or I'm apt to tell that sanctimonious prick Danny just what his daughter's been up to with Lou Grover's little black bastard."**

 **Grace trembles under his touch, for just a second almost giving in, but when he tries to kiss her a hot surge of anger courses through her and she slaps him hard across the face.**

 **"Don't touch me! Don't you _ever_ touch me!"**

 **He slaps her back, then again, vicious blows that send her sprawling back onto her bed. Then he kneels before her splayed legs and begins caressing her thighs.**

 _ **Oh God, he's gonna rape me.**_

 **Panic seizes her, and Grace plants both bare feet in the middle of Stan's chest and shoves him away from her so hard he crashes against her dresser.**

 **Before he can stand, or even process what just happened, Grace is standing over him, her voice shaking with rage.**

" **Here's _my_ deal, you filthy perv. You won't say shit to my dad, not ever, 'cause if you do I'll tell him how you just tried to assault me, and he'll do worse than shoot you in the arm." She takes a ragged breath and nudges him with her toe. "Now get the fuck out of my room."**

 **He climbs shakily to his feet, giving her a sullen look, but she sees fear there, too.**

 **Then he's gone.**

 **Grace locks the door behind him, sinks wearily to the floor, and bursts into tears.**

 **Eventually her tears taper off, a plan begins to form, and when she feels able to talk without sounding like a blubbering idiot she calls her Uncle Steve and invites him to dinner.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 **Fresh from the shower and barefoot, Grace stands in front of the full-length mirror in her room, brushing the tangles from her damp hair, then tosses the brush carelessly onto her bed and grins at her reflection.**

 _ **Mom's gonna freak, but I don't care.**_

 **With her hair shadowing her bruised face, her long bare legs poking out from under her Honolulu PD t-shirt, and her newly-painted black toenails glistening, Grace pads over to her desk and texts Uncle Steve.**

 _ **Are you still coming?**_

 _ **On my way.**_

 _ **Okay, see you soon.**_

 **Taking the phone with her, she sits cross-legged on the bed and calls Will again, needing to fill him in on her confrontation with Stan and her plan to disrupt dinner.**

 **And needing, most of all, to beg his forgiveness for her idiotic three-word call from earlier.**

* * *

 **Rachel Edwards has spent most of her daughter's young life trying to get the girl to act and dress like a proper young lady, but when Grace enters the kitchen a short while later, with her long unruly hair, her bare legs, and black toenails, she knows she has failed.**

 **Miserably.**

" **Gracie Williams, please tell me that is not the shameful attire, or lack thereof, that you plan to wear to dinner!"**

" **I can't."**

" **Why not?"**

" **'Cause then I'd be lying."**

 **She sits at her usual spot and winks at Charlie, who is gaping at her.**

 **So is Stan, but him she ignores.**

 **Rachel opens her mouth to say something – she's noticed the bruises under the long fall of her daughter's hair - but before she can get the words out the doorbell rings.**

" **I'll get it," Grace cries, jumping to her feet again and rushing to the door.**

* * *

 **Steve McGarrett, while not surprised that Gracie answers his ring, is not expecting the half-dressed version of her that currently stands before him.**

" **Hey, Uncle Steve," she says, her eyes smiling a welcome even as her subdued tone puts him on guard.**

 _ **Something's wrong.**_

" **Hey, yourself, sweetheart," he teases, but instead of stepping back to let him in the girl steps closer and grabs the front of his shirt in a death grip.**

" **Promise me, Uncle Steve!" she implores him in an urgent whisper. "Promise me that no matter what happens in there, you won't go ballistic in front of Mom and Charlie, and that you won't ever tell Danno."**

 **Steve's hands go to her shoulders, concern evident in his voice.**

" **Gracie, honey, what's wrong?"**

" **Promise me!"**

 **He sighs in exasperation, wishing his partner was here now instead of off at some HPD seminar. "Look, kiddo, I can promise not to get violent, but how can you ask me to keep secrets from your dad, especially when they concern you?"**

 **Her grip on his shirt tightens even more, and she swears under her breath. Then she looks up into his eyes, and the haunted look in hers stabs his heart.**

" **You can't tell him, 'cause if he finds out about any of this, he'll kill Stan, which would be fine with me, but then he'd kill William too, and lock my ass in some tower somewhere, just like Rapunzel."**

 **Not sure how seriously to take her angst – she's a teenager after all – Steve fingers a strand of her hair and tries to lighten her mood.**

" **Well, speaking of Rapunzel, if this hair of yours gets much longer you'll be sitting on it."**

 **She glares at him, shrugs angrily out of his grip, and releases her own hold on his shirt.**

" **Fine," she says, her eyes shimmering with sudden tears. "If you're that scared of my dad I don't need you. I'll handle this shit on my own."**

 **And with that, Gracie shuts the door firmly in his face.**

* * *

" **Who was that, Grace?" Rachel asks as her daughter comes back into the kitchen and sullenly resumes her seat at the table.**

" **Uncle Steve."**

 **Rachel looks surprised by this. "Uncle Steve? What'd he want?"**

" **I invited him for dinner."**

" **So why didn't he come in?"**

" **'Cause I sorta uninvited him."**

" **She didn't mean it," Steve says as he enters from the front hall, and Grace's whole face lights up.**

" **Uncle Steve! I knew you wouldn't let me down."**

 **He arches his brows at her. "Was that before or after you slammed the door in my face?"**

 **Grace looks offended. "I did not slam the door, and I didn't lock it, either." She pauses, giving him a nervous look. "But I need to know, are we doing this my way or yours?"**

" **Well," Steve says, pretending to mull it over, "it _is_ your birthday, so I guess it's only fair to let you call the shots."**

 **With that settled, Steve ruffles Charlie's hair, hugs Rachel, and barely manages not to strangle Stan.**

 **Here in the light of the kitchen he's finally noticed the bruises half-hidden by Grace's hair, and from the stormy looks Rachel keeps fixing on her husband, she's noticed them, too.**

" **Mom," Grace says, sensing the sudden tension in the room, "Are you mad?"**

" **Not at you, okay? But maybe it's time you told us what this is all about."**

 **Before doing so, Grace goes to squat next to her brother's chair. "Charlie, honey, I need to ask you a really big favor."**

" **How big?"**

" **Grape slushie big."**

 **He thinks it over. "Two slushies."**

 **Grace smiles in spite of herself. "You drive a hard bargain, kiddo, but okay, two slushies it is."**

 **And just like that, she persuades him to finish his plate of spaghetti in the family room while watching old westerns on Grit TV.**

* * *

 **Grace gets him settled and turns to return to the others, but he tugs at her hair and whispers, "Is step-Stan in trouble?"**

 **The question catches her off-guard, and because of that she replies more honestly than she might have otherwise. "I sure as hell hope so."**

" **Me, too."**

" **Why?" she asks, almost afraid to hear the boy's answer.**

 **Charlie shrugs. "'Cause I saw how Mommy and Uncle Steve were looking at him." He reaches up gently to touch her bruised cheek. "And I think it was him who hurt your face."**

 **This is too much for her, and to avoid breaking into sobs for the second time that day, Grace grabs her little brother in a fierce hug.**

" **I love you, Charlie," she whispers into his tousled, sweet-smelling hair, then stiffens her back and returns to the kitchen to make sure Uncle Steve is behaving himself, even though part of her hopes he isn't.**

* * *

 **Stan has been mostly silent thus far, but now, as Grace returns from the family room alone he turns on Rachel.**

" **Damnit, Rach, I don't know who your little brat thinks she is, but this is my house, not hers, and if you won't make her respect me, I'll do it myself!"**

" **No you won't," Steve says, his voice low but deadly.**

 **Stan turns pale, then glares at Grace. "This is all your fault," he says harshly, but when she just smiles sweetly and gives him the finger - and both Rachel and McGarrett pretend not to notice - he feels his hold over his family slipping away.**

 **Grace glances around at the scene before her, at Mom and Uncle Steve glaring at Stan, and Stan glaring at her, and finally fixes her glittering eyes on her stepfather.**

" **Tell her."**

 **Stan blinks stupidly. "Tell who what?"**

 **She grips the back of her chair so tight her knuckles turn white. "Tell Mom what a fucking slut I am, spreading my legs for half the boys on the beach. Or better yet, tell Uncle Steve what a little black bastard his friend's son is!"**

 **Amid the shocked silence that follows – even Steve is too stunned to react – Grace lowers her voice to a near whisper.**

" **Tell 'em both how you tried to kiss me in my room, to _rape_ me, and how I fought you off with my bare feet."**

 **She goes to Steve before he can launch himself at Stan, put her hands on his shoulders , and says, "I'm done, and your promise to me is revoked."**

 **His eyes widen in surprise. "All of it? Or just the first part?"**

" **I don't care," Grace says, suddenly so weary she can barely stand.**

" **What about Stan?"**

" **Don't care about him, either. I'm done."**

 **Then, without another word to anyone, she pushes past Rachel and goes in search of Charlie.**

 **She needs to find him, and hug him, and never let him go.**

* * *

 _ **In the end, a mysteriously battered and bloody Stan boards a plane for the mainland and his home in Vegas, and Rachel and Steve decide that perhaps it would be best if neither of them mentioned any of this to Danno.**_

 _ **As for Grace, life goes on, and after a while she almost manages to forget what a totally shitty Sweet Sixteen she'd had.**_

 _ **Almost, but not quite.**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 – Aftermath**

 ** _Five years later._**

 **Grace is now 21, engaged to Will, and - much to her father's dismay - about to enter the Honolulu Police Academy.**

 _ **Or, you know, Ke Kula Maka'i for short.**_

" **Y'know, Monkey," Danno says, looking up from the Star-Advertiser sports page, "they'll never let you in with all that wild hair."**

" **Sure they will," she replies, "so long as I pin it back or whatever. And quit calling me Monkey."**

 **But he can see from the look on her face that anyone wanting Grace to tame her waist-length black mane is in for a battle.**

" **What if they ask you to cut it anyway?" he asks, not willing to concede his point.**

" **Then I'll quit," she says, knowing the words will shock him, and they do.**

" **You're kidding, right? Gracie, you've dreamed of being a cop almost since birth!"**

 **Grace shrugs. "Yeah, but on my terms, not theirs. If HPD don't want me, then I'll get my P.I. license and hang out a damn shingle like that guy Magnum."**

" **You do know that Magnum isn't a real person, don't you?" Danno asks her, still unable to believe his daughter would throw HPD under the bus over a few inches of hair.**

" **Tell that to Tom Selleck, why don't you?"**

 **Just then Rachel – now Mrs. Williams for the second time - enters the kitchen and joins them at the table with her own cup of coffee.**

" **Don't discourage her," she says, then gestures at the newspaper. "Anything in there about what happened to poor Stan?"**

 **Grace looks up with a questioning look. "Something happened to Stan?"**

 **Rachel nods. "Well, apparently the man was involved in some shady Vegas land deal." She sips her coffee. "They found his body in a landfill."**

" **Jesus," Grace mutters, feeling a shudder go through her. She'd hated the man ever since he tried to rape her on her sixteenth birthday, hadn't liked him even before that, and hadn't thought of him in years.**

 _ **But still.**_

" **Any idea who the perps were, Rach?" Danno finally asks, but Rachel shakes her head.**

" **No, and we may never know." Again she sips her coffee. "It could have been anyone."**

" **What makes you say that, Mom?" Grace asks, curious in spite of herself.  
**

 **"Something one of the Vegas cops said. An opportunist like Stan makes enemies pretty quick."**

" **I'll say," Grace blurts out, remembering the EPT incident, and then to Danno's amazement she and Rachel bust out laughing.**

" **Okay, you two lunatics, what am I missing?"**

" **Oh, nothing," Grace says, tears running down her face, and her father shakes his head in disgust.**

" **Why is it that the two women I love best in the world insist on not telling me stuff?"**

" **It's for your own good, dear," Rachel says, leaning forward to kiss him on the forehead.**

" **And mine, too," Grace adds, as she leans in to kiss his cheek.**

 **Danny looks from one to the other, from his once-again-wife to his always-been-daughter, and does what he has always done when a situation seems beyond his control.**

 **He blames Steve.**

 **THE END**


End file.
